The Homecoming
by PhoenixQueenHeart
Summary: Elliot comes back. That pretty much says it. The long awaited return, the "encounter" between Olivia & Elliot, oh and Fin gets to land a few punches. Reviews are more than welcome. However, this is my first story, so... please be easy on me? Hope you find this good.


Chapter One

"You?!", the word slipped from Olivia Benson's lips barely audible in a tone that was half-statement, half-question.  
"Hay, Liv. I—", her partner -or more accurately: EX-partner- replied in way of greeting; his crystal-blue eyes soft in hope but guarded out of remorse, pleading with hers.  
"You?!", but before Elliot Stabler could get out two words together, Olivia cut him off with the one word that sounded to his ears like a poisoned dart aimed to kill.  
"I can explain, Liv, I swear to G-", Elliot tried to reason with the woman who stood across the room from him, demons of five whole years of pain quarreling behind her eyes, and making the fire smoldering in their dark orbs almost touchable.  
"EXPLAIN! You, son of a bitch! get the f*** out of my precinct!", Sergeant Olivia Benson shrilled at him, taking two angry strides closer, but still keeping the desks separating her from the subject of her rage fit.  
"Olivia, listen!", Elliot had to raise his voice a bit to get her to allow him a seconds' window to speak. "I know you're hurt, & I know you're mad at me, & God I so deserve every single bit of your contempt & even hate, but I wanted to come back—", He was speaking so fast trying to inject as many words as the seconds' window of calm allowed him before Olivia slammed it back shut in his face again, which she just then did. God he'd expected her to be mad, to even threaten to shoot him—hell, if her shooting him would take away the 5-years' worth hurt & pain he must have caused her, along with the regret he's been living with ever since- if her shooting him would take THAT away, he'd gladly let her do it! He'd expected her anger; he'd braced himself for it, even, but what he never expected was the look in her eyes. Her eyes were not the same any more. They were different, darker, if you may… Her once usually bright chocolate orbs that used to sport that tinge of determination, lightness, & optimism, now were dim! The same –if not more- amount of strength & stamina was still there, but the light was gone… it was as if fog has clouded them. She seemed older. Not her face or looks, but her soul seemed as if it has aged. Only then he could actually _see_ for himself how _he_ had hurt her. God, he'd always taken it to his heart to protect her, and now look at who caused her the worst pain in her life!  
He wished he could take it all back.  
"YOU WANTED TO COME BACK?", he was snapped out of his 200-miles-a-minute train of thought by her spatting his own words back at him.  
"Have you no shame?! You walk out of this damn place without little whatsoever as a word; you disappear out into thin f***ing air for FIVE DAMN years like we had all along been nothing but shit to you! And now you—"  
the high shouting has been attracting officers & technicians from other offices, and just then Fin walked into Olivia's office, a concerned look knotting his brows.  
"Hay what's going on here?", Said Fin as he swung the door to her office open, just to hear her enraged words: "…And you just want to come back?!"… The minute Fin realized who the person Olivia was talking to was, he was fueled with rage himself within the same second. "You, mother f****** bastard, haven't you done her enough damage already, now you comin' back to hurt her yet again?!", Fin paid no effort to restrain his rage as he immediately greeted Elliot with a square punch to the head. Olivia got to her feet. People who had been hovering round her office unsure of what was going on in there, now crowded watching the wrangle, some of them getting alert should a situation arise & they be needed to intervene, while others bounced off confused comments about the identity of the man in the lather jacket, & jeans who agitated their boss & a lead detective that much.  
"Fin", Olivia called her friend's name, though not sure exactly what she wanted him to do.  
"Dammit, Fin! Just hear me out, goddammit!", Elliot yelled as he wrestled with Fin trying to contain the latter's outburst.  
"Hear what, Stabler?, you ain't got shit to say here", Fin sputtered out, still trying to land another punch to Elliot's nose, what made Elliot clasp both his forearms together around Fin's shoulder & neck to halt his attack.  
"THAT I WAS IN PRISON. IN TAIWAN", Elliot shouted, out of breath.  
"Hay! You! Put your hands in the air where I can see 'em & let 'im go right now!", an early-thirtyish, muscular officer stepped into the room, his gun trained in his both hands.  
Fin's wriggling had come to an abrupt stop as he heard what Stabler said. Elliot let him go & held his hands up in surrender, just as Olivia spoke, now in quitter, more composed tones, to the younger officer:  
"it's alright, officer! Put away your weapon.", she ordered him as she waved her hand directing him to do as instructed.  
"ma'am?", the young officer questioned, taking the gun down a notch but not taking it down altogether.  
"You heard me, officer. Put it down; everything is under control here.", she replied in full commanding voice now.  
"Yes, Sergeant", he said, holstering his gun & backing away, still eyeing Elliot suspiciously, as he did.  
Olivia didn't miss the slight arch Elliot's brows took on hearing her –new to him- rank.  
Olivia threw Elliot a dangerous look as she stepped out from behind her disk, before she headed towards the door of the office & loudly addressed the small crowd assembled outside:  
"Everything is alright in here, officers. Been just a sort of…misunderstanding. Now everybody get back to your business. Circus is over!" Olivia told them, looking each in directly in the eyes. They started to back up, scattering in different direction, each to his/her work, when an elderly detective asked: "hey... That's Stabler in there isn't it?".  
"Barker, get back to work, this isn't your business, will ya?", she said as she patted his shoulder dismissively as he still tried to peak a look into Olivia's office. He shook his head sorrowfully, "he was a good kid, but he never knew the worth of what he had. He'd better have a pretty goddamn plausible explanation to his coming back!", the older officer, Barker, said locking eyes in a meaningful way with Olivia before he started walking off.  
Olivia stared vacantly at his back for a few seconds before turning her head to look over her shoulder inside the room containing the man that she'd once entrust her very life to, but whom now she barely knew! She returned her gaze in the direction Barker disappeared in, and whispered to herself: "…and to his departure."

Chapter Two 


End file.
